Online Poker in Virginia – Is It Legal?

While online poker is still not legal in Virginia and most of the United States, there have been recent developments that make one think it could only be a matter of time before there is gambling expansion to legalize it. In 1973, Virginia allowed charitable gaming at bingo halls. By 1987, the state lottery was approved, and a few years later, pari-mutuel horse wagering was allowed.

Electronic bingo machines that play like slot machines were first allowed in 2007 in the state. Things really started changing for the good in 2018 when sports betting was on the table again after PASPA was overturned by the Supreme Court. While Virginia would not pass sports betting legislation until 2020, during that time they introduced the ability to buy lottery tickets online and play iLottery instant win games online in 2020 during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, popular retail sportsbooks went through the state licensing process to be ready to launch in January 2021. Just before that, voters in four cities (Danville, Portsmouth, Bristol and Norfolk) approved the construction of casinos. The first one, Rivers Casino Portsmouth, opened at its permanent location in January 2023. It has a poker room, so if you want to play poker in person in Virginia, you now have a brick-and-mortar casino to do it at with more options coming by 2025. 

The addition of casinos is good, because in-person poker has been very contested in the state. In 2020, Virginia’s General Assembly legalized charitable Texas Hold’em poker tournaments, but there have been disputes over how to regulate this and if it should even be allowed in the state. The Beach Poker Room in Virginia Beach was hosting live poker games, but it has been closed multiple times since 2020 as the disputes wage on. This is why having a consistent poker room open in the casinos is a good sign for the future of poker playing in Virginia.

But until online poker is passed with gambling legislation, your best bet is to join reputable offshore casinos to play poker online. 

Timeline of Gambling in VA

The following timeline shows the key events involving casino and poker gaming in the state of Virginia: 

• January 2023: Rivers Casino Portsmouth opens as Virginia’s first permanent land-based casino, and it includes a poker room.
• July 2022: A temporary casino location opens for the Bristol Casino with a permanent building planned to open in summer 2024.
• January 2021: Online sports betting kicks off in Virginia with several licensed online sportsbooks available.
• November 2020: Voters in Richmond reject a proposal to build a casino in the city, but voters in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth all approve their casino construction. 
• 2020: The General Assembly of Virginia approves charitable Texas Hold’em Poker tournaments, and The Beach Poker Room in Virginia Beach opens to host live poker tournaments. 
• 2020: A legalsports betting bill is approved and signed by Gov. Ralph Northam. iLottery games are launched on the Virginia Lottery site, allowing users to play casino-style games for real money.
• 2018: A mobile app launches, letting Virginians buy lottery tickets online.
• 2007: Electronic bingo machines, similar to slot machines, are permitted in the state.
• 1996: Charitable gaming oversight is now overseen by the state rather than local law. 
• 1987: By a referendum, voters support a state lottery with the first ticket sold in 1988.
• 1973: Charitable gambling is legalized in Virginia. 

Key Features of Virginia’s Best Online Poker Sites

In the following sections, we look at the key features that make our top-ranked online poker sites the best choices for your online gambling needs.

Competitive Gambling Odds

With casino sites, we just want to see competitive odds across the board. That means poker tournaments with reasonable entry fees. Table games with solid limits (minimum and maximum). But most of the difference can be made up at the sportsbook where some online operators offer reduced juice on all or select markets. 

Multiple Betting Markets Available

Variety is the key to the most quality experiences at an online casino. If you offer the most gambling options possible, that makes it more likely the customer will keep using that site instead of taking their business elsewhere.

For the poker room, we want to see a wide variety of tournaments and cash games, and some sites like BetOnline even allow poker players to suggest tournament ideas. In the sports betting market, we want a wide variety of sports and leagues from around the world, and the ability to do parlays, round robins, and more. In the casino section, we want a wide array of table games, slots, and specialty games. 

Wide Variety of Banking Methods

It is always crucial to have a wide variety of banking methods as users today have so many choices for their deposit and withdrawal options:

• Traditional methods: credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, checks
• Newer methods: eWallets, crypto (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, etc.)

Generous Poker Bonuses & Other Promos

New users can get a poker sign-up offer by (usually) entering a promo code when they make their first deposit. Just keep in mind these bonus funds usually are not released until you play a certain amount of poker on the site. But beyond the poker bonuses for new users, we like to see ongoing promos for loyal customers, including reload bonuses, risk-free bets, and a good reward program or refer-a-friend program. 

Live Dealers Available

One of the coolest features at an online casino is the ability to see a live dealer deal the cards for blackjack or spin the roulette wheel live via video chat. You can also usually communicate with the dealer via text. This is a nice addition to the electronic game offerings. 

High-Quality User Interface

The best online gambling sites for poker will have a high-quality user interface that makes it simple to deposit money, get into the poker room and find your favorite games, and take advantage of the promotions offered at the site. We also want online casino games and poker games that are easy to change the bet amount on the fly. 

Mobile Site Quality

With the poker app you can download at the sites that offer poker tournaments, we look for a quality experience that is lag free, has good graphics and is easy to navigate, plus, you should be able to withdraw your winnings with ease. This should all be done well on a mobile app and not just a desktop computer, which you can also download the poker apps for.

Multiple Customer Service Options

The best online casinos will have helpful customer service that is offered 24/7 with a variety of contact options: emails, a phone number, the ability to send a message through the site with attachments, and live chat with an agent. 

Security & Safety Features

When trying to win money online with casino sites, you have to enter your personal and financial info on these sites. That makes it extra important that they have the latest security features to ensure that your connection is secure and your data is protected. We trust the sites we recommend because of their experience and longstanding reputation in the industry.

Poker Games Available at Virginia Poker Sites

With online poker games, you will find many different variants and game types. Many people like Texas Hold’em and Omaha, but you also have different game speeds and types, including cash games, tournaments, bad beat jackpots, and Sit & Go games. We look at these poker types in the next sections. 

Cash Games

Cash games in poker are different from tournaments in that you are getting an amount in chips equal to what you buy in. In a tournament, you could just pay the entry fee and everyone is given the same amount of chips, and the game goes on until there is a winner, but with cash games, you can come and go while putting in more money when you wish.

This gives players with big bankrolls an advantage, but cash games are very good in helping you become a better player as players get more loose and risky with their decision-making in cash games. It will sharpen your skills for tournament play. 

Sit & Go Games

A Sit & Go game is a special type of tournament that has no set start time like scheduled tournaments have. Instead, the Sit & Go game starts once a certain number of players sign up for a table. These are good games for beginners as they do not cost much to enter and are over relatively quickly. You will not generally win as much as you can with cash games, but some of these tournaments could have 50-plus people for a decent Jackpot Sit & Go tournament. 

Multi-Table Tournaments

A multi-table tournament (MTT) is one of the most popular poker tournaments in the world of online casino gambling. Everyone in the tournament buys in at the same price. Once players start getting eliminated, the remaining players are shuffled around to fill the remaining tables. Eventually, the tournament gets to the final table where the last player wins the pot. With so many players at the start, you can enter with a small amount and leave with a huge win if you are good enough to pull it off. Just keep in mind these can take a long time to complete. You can also play multiple MTTs at the same time.

Jackpot Games

At sites like BetOnline and SportsBetting, you can play Bad Beat Jackpot Games. These are paid out when a minimum hand of Four of a Kind 2’s loses to a higher-ranking hand like a Straight Flush or Four of a Kind 3’s. When that bad beat happens, everyone at the table gets a share of the jackpot bonus.

Speed Poker

Speed poker is a newer type of game that has been made popular by online poker. You can be playing Texas Hold’em but players may only have 15 seconds to act or their hand is ruled dead, hence the name “speed” as games move quickly. You also will have a fast fold option to get out of a game quicker instead of waiting.

Straddle

In poker cash games, a straddle is an optional blind bet. It must be done before you see any of your cards. Think of it as a third blind bet as the player will make it after the big blind and small blind are posted. But it is entirely optional to do.